vrmlguy writes: "The keystone kops are at it again! A story in the Boston Globe reports, "In a scene reminiscent of the Cartoon Network bomb scare that paralyzed the Boston area in January, police shut down a strip mall yesterday in [the Boston suburb of Ashland] after employees at a Bank of America branch mistook a botched fax for a bomb threat. [...] Branches across the Northeast received the distorted fax and that while other branches also evacuated, none saw law enforcement response as extensive as in Ashland. [...] Town officials may ask Bank of America to reimburse the town for the cost of the response, which included more than a dozen town officers and firefighters, personnel from neighboring towns, a State Police bomb squad, and police dogs.""

alphadogg writes: Makers of some of the most popular extension software used by the Firefox browser are not doing enough to secure their software, according to a security researcher. The problem is that many widely used Firefox extensions, including toolbars from Google, Yahoo, and AOL, do not use secure connections to update themselves, according to Christopher Soghoian, a security researcher best known for having attracted the attention of the FBI late last year after publishing a tool that could be used to print fake boarding passes.
[spam URL stripped]a rcher-dont-trust-google.html

An anonymous reader writes: Space.com has an article on how old rocket stages are carrying bacteria from Earth to interstellar space. The four upper rocket stages were used to boost deep space probes Voyager 1, Voyager 2, Pioneer 10 and New Horizons. The spacecraft were sterilized, but the rocket stages were not, and they now carry the bacteria of the engineers who handled them. If the rocket stages hit a habitable planet, and the bacteria survive the journey, they would be able to reproduce and colonize the planet.

MilkyJoe writes: Staff at Oxford University are exploring the use of Facebook to help organise academic life for staff and students, "be it [for] tutorials, research or something new." According to Grazyna Cooper, Head of IT Learning Programme at Oxford University Computing Services, there are circa 25,000 users registered on Facebook as either staff, students or Alumni. In 2005-06 There were 18,431 students in residence at the University.

Beware, scofflaws of all types. Big Brother may not be watching, but your fellow citizens are, and thanks to a flurry of tattletale websites, your violations can be held up for the world to see.

One website in particular grabbed my attention: Caughtya.org. Caughtya focuses on the abuse of disability parking spaces by people who don't have disability parking permits. The site displays photos of illegally parked vehicles, along with details of the date/time/location of the infraction.

What is so fascinating about this is the use of technology to tackle an ongoing social problem, with apparently a good measure of success. With cell phones and integrated cameras becoming more affordable, more and more people are able to act. Technologies that were not readily available just a few years ago are now accessible enough that people can get them. Technology empowering people. It's not just about having a cool phone that takes photos anymore. Yeah, of course, you could take cool photos, but now the photos you take can be put to good use.

I know what *I* am going to do next time I see someone parked in a disability parking space without a placard: Take a photo and post it on Caughtya!"

An anonymous reader writes: Hot on the heels of the Astroglide Sex Lubricant disaster where details of Astroglide free Sample requestors "slipped out", Roche Diagnostics, makers of the Accu-Check range of diabetic meters have today released random details via their email list to each of us who has registered for their newsletter.
See http://timtrent.blogspot.com/2007/05/roche-pharmac euticals-releases-medical.html for much more info

Dread Pirate Skippy writes: The BBC reports today that investigators in Germany will be cracking down on child pornography in the virtual world of Second Life. From the article, "The investigation follows a report by a German TV news programme which uncovered the trading group and members who pay for sex with virtual children." It doesn't stop there however, as it goes on to state, "Members of this group also offered to put [reporter Nick Schader] in touch with traders of real child pornography."

Rmorph writes: "This commentator wonders: How long before we start screening for blue eyes and blond hair?

[url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6634015.stm /]The BBC is reporting[/url] that the UK Human Fertility and Embryonic Authority has just upped the ante in the Genetic screening stakes — apparently backpedalling on their own rules in order to screen embryos for a "squint" (Previously it was determined that screening should only be used to avoid life threatening conditions).

Dr David King, a molecular biologist, and director of [url=http://www.hgalert.org/]Human Genetics Alert[/url] is quoted as saying "The HFEA has ignored public opinion and has ignored its own rules which say that PGD should only be allowed for serious medical conditions."

Have the floodgates just opened towards for the push to genetically superior humans?

It begs the question, that slashdotters may be able to answer: given that the UK's HFEA is a self-regulating body, what is the situation like elsewhere in the world, where even self-regulation may not be in force? Japan? Russia?Are there countries where the search for Superbabys has already begun in earnest?"